[Tats07]

Friends, please have a look at this review of 335i, the movie trailer like beginning of the video had me in splits!!!

2012 BMW 3 Series Test Drive & Review - YouTube

[suhaas307]

Originally Posted by vikrantj

My initial impressions as a non-enthusiast and a average Indian customer (imagine I have loads of money in my pocket) of it :

1. Exterior looks nothing out of ordinary.
2. Interiors looks very ordinary.
3. Diesel engine plonked in 184BHp/4000RPM and 380Nm/1750-2750RPM compared that with Cruze 166BHP/3800RPM and 380Nm/2000RPM . This comes at price tag of 28L+ and Cruze at 13L+ .

I do not understand what is which a run-of-the-mill car doesn't give that this gives. All and all a car which feeds ego of one who can afford while providing no value-for-money. It does not stand apart from the pack.

Again this is my personal opinion.

Originally Posted by vikrantj

Value for money like exteriors/interiors look-and-feel is a personal thought process. It can vary with person to person.

Sir,

With all due respect, I'd like to tell you that it isn't fair comparing a Cruze and a BMW 3 Series. In essence, they're similar. They are three-box cars, they have 4 seats and they have diesel engines. But that's where it ends.

Someone who buys a BMW may not consider a Cruze. In fact, he probably wouldn't consider the Cruze as a value for money proposition as he may see plenty of value in his BMW. He may believe that the 20 lakhs he is putting on the 3 is worth every rupee over the Cruze. In the same way a Cruze owner would think it would be fool-hardy to spend 20 lakhs more on a BMW that offers 'pretty-much' the same thing.

At the end of the day, it boils down to priorities. And it boils down to the value you find in your car. It's subjective, this term value. People say value-for-money cars are the ones that sell. What does this term mean? What cars offer, in the truest-sense, actual value?

You've said it yourself!

Now I would find plenty of value in a car like the Mini Cooper S, even though it's 40 lakhs. But someone else would certainly think it's a total waste of money. These people are looking for a large car with 5 seats and an engine that's powerful and a cabin that's loaded with features that could put Space-Shuttles to shame.

To be honest, you need to drive a BMW to know why it costs 20 lakhs more. If you still don't know why, then your priorities differ from ours. It's as simple as that.

[harusadu]

The rosenthal review is probably one of the best reviews out there. He's just got the ability to convince you that what he's got is the best and its why everyone should have it. I've seen it so many times over now. With regards to why a cheverolet is even compared to a bmw, I have no idea. Its like comparing a private jet to commercial. One will always have perks and plus points the other than won't, even if they serve the same purpose.

[vikrantj]

Originally Posted by suhaas307

To be honest, you need to drive a BMW to know why it costs 20 lakhs more. If you still don't know why, then your priorities differ from ours. It's as simple as that.

Yes they definitely do and I do not need a test drive to stamp an approval on that thought process and quite frankly I feel offended by the last lines in your post since they seem judgmental.

[Tats07]

Originally Posted by harusadu

With regards to why a cheverolet is even compared to a bmw, I have no idea. Its like comparing a private jet to commercial. One will always have perks and plus points the other than won't, even if they serve the same purpose.

I didn't catch the bit about Chevrolet-BMW comparison in the video that I uploaded. Are you talking about my post, or some other Rosenthal review?

[harusadu]

I was referring to rise that when talking about how good the video is but someone else compared the cruze to the 3 series.

[suhaas307]

Originally Posted by vikrantj

Yes they definitely do and I do not need a test drive to stamp an approval on that thought process and quite frankly I feel offended by the last lines in your post since they seem judgmental.

Vikrant,

Please don't be offended, I meant that in the nicest possible way. Everyone is entitled to have different views and priorities and there is absolutely nothing wrong in feeling that a Cruze may be more VFM. In fact, there is no 'right' and 'wrong', in my opinion. It's only 'different'.

[nirav]

Originally Posted by karan561

The car has arrived ,


you can see more pictures & read the initial report of the same here ;

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/test-d...coral-red.html

Thanks

Hi Karan,
Unable to access the link for some reason. Eagerly waiting to read it!

[swiftnfurious]

Originally Posted by nirav

Hi Karan,
Unable to access the link for some reason. Eagerly waiting to read it!

Guess the thread has been moved to "Assembly line". It should come back with lot more pics & a detailed drive details in some time. Waiting for it!

[deetjohn]

I went to Chikmagalur over the weekend and guess what I found. A gleaming brand new red 3er on a flat bed truck on the way there. Wonder which coffee estate owner is taking the delivery. Sorry, no pics.

Eagerly waiting for the official review.

[karan561]

Originally Posted by nirav

Hi Karan,
Unable to access the link for some reason. Eagerly waiting to read it!

Originally Posted by swiftnfurious

Guess the thread has been moved to "Assembly line". It should come back with lot more pics & a detailed drive details in some time. Waiting for it!

The thread is now active and moved back into the "Initial Ownership" thread you can now read the FULL report from post #1 & #2 ;

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/test-d...ml#post2875015

[275BHP]

Guys, one quick question. Based on the brochure it seems that the 320d sportline/luxuryline trims don't have the gps/navigation facility. Any idea if this can be attached separately or can we somehow sync our phone maps with BMWs idrive ()? This is probably the only thing holding me back from booking the ultimat3.

[rishi_kapoor]

Originally Posted by 275BHP

Guys, one quick question. Based on the brochure it seems that the 320d sportline/luxuryline trims don't have the gps/navigation facility. Any idea if this can be attached separately or can we somehow sync our phone maps with BMWs idrive ()? This is probably the only thing holding me back from booking the ultimat3.

I got a quote for INR 91000 plus taxes plus labour to enable it on E90 for F30 this may be more since both trims mentioned by you have smaller screens so even that may be required to replace as well.

[harusadu]

@275 BHP, I bought the Luxury line and i absolutely love it. I don't have any use for maps whatsover so its a useless feature to me but rather than blow a lach on gps functionality, why don't you get one of those clips which attach to the ac vent which hold ur phone in place and then just use google maps?

[androdev]

Originally Posted by 275BHP

Guys, one quick question. Based on the brochure it seems that the 320d sportline/luxuryline trims don't have the gps/navigation facility. Any idea if this can be attached separately or can we somehow sync our phone maps with BMWs idrive ()? This is probably the only thing holding me back from booking the ultimat3.

A very good and I might add superior navigation tool is Android/Google mobile phone. Only if the car has HUD, then OEM navigation will feel slicker. I considered getting navigation enabled but decided not to and instead purchased an android phone and I am very happy.

Some of the advantages with android phone based navigation:

1. Speed: The location lock is super fast because of AGPS. You can even navigate using AGPS if you lose satellite connection intermittently. I have used dedicated GPS (Garmin, etc.) devices and I felt having AGPS makes the experience far superior. I was let down by Garmin/MMI hardware plenty of times compared to Android+AGPS.

2. Familiarity: I use Google maps on the PC all the time and I plan/explore the area using this map offline. So when I see the same maps during navigation, it gives me better comfort and I personally like the maps/colour-scheme of google maps.

3. Low data cost: Android maps now support (semi) offline maps. You can download modded maps that make the navigation work in India. So essentially you can use Android navigation with minimal data charges. You still need data connection to calculate the route, but don't need data connection just to view the map with your current location marker if you have already downloaded the maps for offline usage.

4. The phone is always with me. I may not be driving the BMW-with-nav every time, but I am always carrying my phone with me even when I am not inside the car. Most cars are coming with USB port through which you can charge the mobile.

5. I travel with kids and they want to use the ICE of the car for music/video, etc. and I am better off with my phone working as a dedicated navigation device. I can mount the phone next to the steering wheel to approximate HUD. iDrive screen for navigation is too distracting, and don't even think about typing an address and fiddling with route.

Of course, the OEM nav will be well integrated, is always powered (no battery headache) and has lot of wow-factor but from a usability point of view I have come to believe that Android mobile will be far better. One thing I should mention that my primary phone is blackberry and Android phone sucks for a phone, I just bought it recently only for navigation and I couldn't be happier with my cheap 10K Motorola Defy Mini :-)